A window of opportunity: Examining the potential impact of mandatory sexual assault kit (SAK) testing legislation on crime prevention.

Abstract

Large stockpiles of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs; or “rape kits”) have been found in police departments throughout the United States. SAKs contain biological evidence (semen, saliva, and blood) that can be analyzed for DNA to inform investigations and prosecutions. However, when SAKs are not tested, it is less likely offenders will be held accountable and they may commit additional crimes. Given the utility of SAK evidence in protecting public safety, a growing number of states are passing mandatory SAK testing laws. In this study, we tracked a sample of previously unsubmitted SAKs collected in Detroit, MI to explore what crimes might have been prevented, based on mandates in the Michigan Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act (2014). For our first research question (Did the rate of offending increase from before to after a SAK could have been tested?), the analyses revealed significant escalation in criminal activity over time. These offenders committed five additional crimes (on average) after their earliest-known SAK could have been tested (range 0–49 crimes), including other sexual assaults, physical assaults, and homicides. For our second research question (Are multiple crimes committed by a subset of repeat offenders?), the results indicated most of this criminal activity was linked to a subset of prolific offenders. For our third research question (How many of these criminal incidents could have been feasibly prevented by timely testing?), the analyses documented that up to 320 additional sexual assaults, plus over a thousand other violent crimes, might have been prevented with timely SAK testing.

Missed Opportunities in Comprehensive Response to Sexual Assaults in Ekiti State, Nigeria

“…Missed opportunities in responding to sexual assaults have been identified in all sectors both nationally and internationally [19][20][21]. It's been recognised as a challenge to the care of SA survivors, mitigating the impact and prevention of this crime [19].…”

“…Missed opportunities in responding to sexual assaults have been identified in all sectors both nationally and internationally [19][20][21]. It's been recognised as a challenge to the care of SA survivors, mitigating the impact and prevention of this crime [19]. Despite amazing progress in a comprehensive response to sexual assault in Ekiti State, Nigeria, missed opportunities still exist in some sectors.…”

Interpol review of forensic management, 2019–2022

“…Another solution would be the creation of an independent laboratory system, a model example being the Houston Forensic Science Center [ 15 , 16 , 120 ]. By separating the laboratory's organizational power structure from that of police, a pro-police bias ought to be reduced [ 52 , 132 ]. Similarly, an independent private third-party laboratory paid for by the defense could provide needed balance, where a voucher system could be used [ 17 ].…”

“…In the United States, several hundred thousand SAKs remain untested or even unsubmitted for testing [ 68 , 94 ]. Whether due to a police officer's reluctance to submit these kits for testing, or the backlogs experienced in many laboratories due to resource constraints, the result for many victims is “justice denied” [ 82 , 132 ]. With the recent #MeToo movement and negative media attention on untested SAKs stored in many jurisdictions as long as decades [ 148 ], and worse SAKs destroyed or degraded either intentionally [ 149 ] or unintentionally [ 150 ], the public's demands to do something has grown [ 85 ].…”

“…Cost-benefit analysis can help prioritize resource use in laboratories or any future legislative proposals [ 12 , 49 , 97 , 100 ]. Many changes have been suggested, such as mandatory testing legislation [ 132 , 151 ], victim-centered police training, encouraging victim participation [ 85 ], improved LIMS use to track SAKs, not only for a laboratory but for a victim who's SAK holds great emotional value [ 83 , 95 , 98 , 102 , 104 ], increased resource availability, and continuous testing to maintain skillsets of a laboratory and technician in techniques such as trace evidence [ 40 ]. Improved leadership, cross-discipline and institution partnerships [ 90 , 103 ], recognition of economies of scale and potential rural versus urban issues are additional challenges to overcome [ 32 , 68 , 143 ].…”